Gold Exploration in Western USA
Vancouver based Orsa Ventures Corp. (Orsa) is a junior exploration
company focused on the acquisition of quality gold-silver-copper assets
in the western United States.
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Ashby Property
Overview
The Ashby project is located in Mineral County, Nevada about 18 miles southeast of the town of Hawthorne. It is comprised of 16 original claims covering the historic Ashby Mine as well 153 new lode claims staked by Orsa around the perimeter of the original claims. Orsa has the right to earn up to a 51% interest in the property through an option agreement with Bridgeport Ventures Inc. through phased exploration, cash payments and share issuances. Access to the property is excellent via an all-weather road.
The Ashby Property
The historic Ashby Mine is credited with production of 9,000 ounces of gold between 1934 and 1937. During the 1980's and 1990's, additional small scale mining removed several hundred ounces per year. Gold was produced from ten steeply dipping, inclined shafts from over several hundred metres of underground workings. Historic workings trace mineralization over a strike length of 650 metres on the north portion of the Ashby Property and in the south over 150 metres.
Mineralization occurs in a series of gold-bearing quartz veins carrying free gold, pyrite and minor silver. The workings have been mapped and sampled in some detail. Rock sampling near old workings has demonstrated the presence of gold mineralization (up to 24 gpt Au) as well as copper (up to 0.99% Cu) and lesser silver (up to 3.4 gpt Ag) mineralization.
While intrusive rocks have not been mapped at surface, a previous drill hole intercepted gold-bearing, altered, iron-oxide stained quartz monzonite 120 metres below the surface. Previous drilling also established the downward continuity of alteration associated with gold mineralization. In September 2011, Orsa initiated a district-scale mapping and sampling program identifying structurally controlled zones of silicification and brecciation containing visible copper oxides to the east, southeast and west of the workings.
A Tensor IP survey completed in late 2011 on the property identified two significant anomalies which are consistent with the potential for porphyry style mineralization at depth and prompted staking of the additional claims.
Approximately 10 line-kilometers of Induced Polarization (IP) were completed to confirm the extent of a previously discovered resistivity and chargeability anomaly. The four-line survey outlined an area approximately two by 1.5 kilometres containing continuous zones with strong conductivity and low resistivity. This area is underlain by folded and faulted platey limestone and small zones of propylitic altered diorite. The north and east edges of the area are defined by zones of well-developed jasperoid, often containing copper oxide, and iron oxide-stained, decalcified limestone.
Geological and geophysical data point to the potential for a large intrusive related, porphyry copper gold system and a high-sulfidation, epithermal gold system which hosted the previous gold production from the project. A trenching program to expose more of the mineralized jasperoid zones around the geophysical target and zones of vuggy quartz alteration around the epithermal target are planned to help further define drilling targets.
Mineralization occurs in a series of gold-bearing quartz veins carrying free gold, pyrite and minor silver. The workings have been mapped and sampled in some detail. Rock sampling near old workings has demonstrated the presence of gold mineralization (up to 24 gpt Au) as well as copper (up to 0.99% Cu) and lesser silver (up to 3.4 gpt Ag) mineralization.
While intrusive rocks have not been mapped at surface, a previous drill hole intercepted gold-bearing, altered, iron-oxide stained quartz monzonite 120 metres below the surface. Previous drilling also established the downward continuity of alteration associated with gold mineralization. In September 2011, Orsa initiated a district-scale mapping and sampling program identifying structurally controlled zones of silicification and brecciation containing visible copper oxides to the east, southeast and west of the workings.
A Tensor IP survey completed in late 2011 on the property identified two significant anomalies which are consistent with the potential for porphyry style mineralization at depth and prompted staking of the additional claims.
Approximately 10 line-kilometers of Induced Polarization (IP) were completed to confirm the extent of a previously discovered resistivity and chargeability anomaly. The four-line survey outlined an area approximately two by 1.5 kilometres containing continuous zones with strong conductivity and low resistivity. This area is underlain by folded and faulted platey limestone and small zones of propylitic altered diorite. The north and east edges of the area are defined by zones of well-developed jasperoid, often containing copper oxide, and iron oxide-stained, decalcified limestone.
Geological and geophysical data point to the potential for a large intrusive related, porphyry copper gold system and a high-sulfidation, epithermal gold system which hosted the previous gold production from the project. A trenching program to expose more of the mineralized jasperoid zones around the geophysical target and zones of vuggy quartz alteration around the epithermal target are planned to help further define drilling targets.
